Is there a third wheel somewhere?
After the heights they reached in Paris, the Wimbledon and US Open finals between Sinner and Alcaraz were relative letdowns. That’s hardly surprising; as I wrote above, epic matches don’t happen every day, or every month. Sometimes they never happen again.
Still, those two finals were a sign that, like anything else that happens all the time, even Sinner vs. Alcaraz could get old. We never had to worry about that with Federer and Nadal, because Djokovic crashed their two-man party not long after it began. Roger and Rafa had the top mostly to themselves for four years, from 2005 to 2008. Sinner and Alcaraz are entering their third year there together. Could they use their own Djokovic to shake things up?
Djokovic types obviously don’t grow on trees, either. And there’s no one on the way up who looks remotely like a future 24-Slam winner. But there are a couple of young lefties who might be able to stand in the way of a Sincaraz final here and there.
Jack Draper, 23, has wins over both guys, and he had a breakthrough 2025 that sent him into the Top 10 for the first time. Ben Shelton is also 23, also left-handed, and also had his best season last year. His 1-11 record against Sinner and Alcaraz doesn’t sound promising, but he has the serve and forehand to take the racquet out of anyone’s hand for a couple of sets.
Other possible challengers could include Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul among the older guard, and Joao Fonseca, Flavio Cobolli, and Holger Rune among the younger.
Sinner and Alcaraz may need a third wheel soon. And it may take Alcaraz some time to settle in with whoever he chooses to succeed Ferrero. But there’s no reason to think the Sincaraz Era is coming to an end anytime soon.
